Homework: Genre and Narrative Analysis

This is a clip from the film '21'.



Genre:
The genre of the film ‘21’ is a teen drama. The film is about a group of American High School students who travel to Vegas on the weekends in order to count cards and make lots of money.
This film is shown to be a teen film as the majority of the main characters are teenagers at school. It also contains plenty of teen-style humour and deals with friendships and romantic relationships. The film is also a drama, as it deals with betrayal, gambling addiction and other emotive subjects that strain the relationships within the group. The film’s thrills come from the plot twists, not action – as they commonly do in dramas.

Propp’s Key Characters:Some of these key characters relate to the film, but as the film is a drama, there is not really a ‘hero’ or someone to save the day. The hero for this film would have to be the main character, Ben, who manages to foil Micky Rosa (the leader of the blackjack team) after he tries to escape with the group’s money. Ben is a very smart teenager and he plays the hero by outsmarting the villain. Ben, in a way, is also an anti-hero, as he falls into a downward spiral as he becomes more and more greedy, trying to win as much money as possible and endangering his friends.
The ‘princess’ character is Jill, the protagonist’s love interest. Instead of being weak and helpless, Jill is an intelligent character, slightly challenging the stereotype.
The villain is shown to be the casino manager, Cole Williams, near the start of the film, though it is later revealed that Rosa is also a villain. Williams helps the group to get their money back, but then demands that they give it back at gun point.
‘Helpers’ include Ben’s original friends and also some members of the blackjack team, who help him see the error of his ways and get him back on the right track.
The ‘princess’s father’ does not really appear in the film.

Todorov’s Narrative Theory:’21’ is fairly conventional when it comes to the narrative structure.

Equilibrium: At the beginning of the film, we see Ben, the protagonist, applying for a place at Harvard Medical School. There is nothing particularly special about his life, apart from his above average intelligence.
Disruption: Ben joins the card counting group and begins to travel to Vegas on the weekends, where he quickly becomes addicted to the rush of winning. Rosa, their leader, steals all the money that Ben has made to get into Harvard Medical School, and Ben has lost everything that he has worked for.
Resolution: The card counting group work together to trick Rosa and take the money back that he stole. This appears to be the happy ending, but Williams (the casino manager) forces them to give up the money at gun point. Ben rejoins his friends, and uses the story of his life in Vegas counting cards to impress the Harvard administrator and to get him a scholarship.Ben joins the card counting group and begins to travel to Vegas on the weekends, where he quickly becomes addicted to the rush of winning. Rosa, their leader, steals all the money that Ben has made to get into Harvard Medical School, and Ben has lost everything that he has worked for.At the beginning of the film, we see Ben, the protagonist, applying for a place at Harvard Medical School. There is nothing particularly special about his life, apart from his above average intelligence.